COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Golden Eagles Dean O’Brien and Kelly Holtzhausen each notched victories in their No. 1 singles contests Saturday, but the Tennessee Tech tennis teams came out with different results in their Ohio Valley Conference matches against UT Martin.

The Golden Eagle men’s team claimed a 5-2 win over the Skyhawks on the strength of five singles victories. In the women’s match, Holtzhausen remained unbeaten in singles play this season but it was the Skyhawks who claimed the 5-2 verdict.

The Tech men will host Appalachian State Sunday at 11 a.m., while the women’s team gets the day off.

“Give credit to UT Martin,” said Golden Eagle coach Dan Silverstein. “They came in and took the doubles points from us, and I take the blame for that. Our energy just wasn’t there to start the match. We were flat, but we can fix that.”

Silverstein was happy that his men’s team was able to overcome its sluggish start.

“We might have taken UT Martin too lightly, but after losing the doubles point I was proud that we came back and won five of six singles points to win the match,” he said. “Dean continues to lead us on the court, and James (Crawford) stepped in at No. 6 and won, and he gave us some depth.”

The Tech women weren’t as fortunate after their slow start.

“UT Martin was just a bit more patient, and they outplayed us today,” Silverstein said. “We need to do a better job in doubles. Our energy at the beginning of the match isn’t what it needs to be, and we need to work on that.”

Freshman Laura Porras, a freshman from Colombia who joined the Golden Eagle roster in January, drew praise from Silverstein along with the steady play of Holtzhausen.

“I’ve really been impressed with the way Laura is handling herself,” he said. “Coming in during January and playing so well as a freshman. She’s been a real plus for us.

“Kelly is undefeated in singles, and she just keeps playing well. She’s aggressive and she makes great decisions on the court,” he said.

Holtzhausen, a sophomore from South Africa, improved to 7-0 at No. 1 singles with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Martie Wahl, but it was one of only two wins for the Golden Eagles in singles action. Porras, who moved up a spot in the lineup, claimed a 6-0, 6-4 win at No. 5 for her third consecutive singles victory.

UT Martin grabbed all three doubles matches for the 1-0 lead, then clinched the win with singles wins at Nos. 2, 3 and 4. The final match on the courts was at No. 6, where UTM’s Alycia LeMerle outlasted Evgenia Yartseva, 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-7) in a tie-breaker.

UT Martin also got the doubles point in the men’s match, winning at No. 1 and No. 2. The middle contest went to Alfredo Krywacz and Petr Markov, 9-8 (7-5) over Alex Chen and Mario Gutierrez to decide the point.

It was Chen who had the satisfaction of winning the match when he won his No. 2 singles battle to clinch Tech’s fourth point of the day. He downed Krywacz, 6-3, 6-2, to put Tech on top, 4-2.

O’Brien, a sophomore from South Africa, added the fifth point for Tech when he won 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) at No. 1 singles over Stephan Bruwer. The win raised O’Brien’s record to 9-1 this spring.

Tech also got straight set singles wins from Justin Kirstein and Oscar Pachon at No. 4 and No. 5. Down at the No. 6 singles match, sophomore James Crawford was inserted into the lineup and earned a 6-0, 6-0 victory.

The men’s team improved to 5-5 overall and remained unbeaten in the OVC at 2-0. The Tech women’s record slipped to 2-5 overall and 1-1 in the league.


Women ‘s Match
UT Martin 5, Tennessee Tech 2

Doubles
No. 1 – Wahl/de Brito (UTM) def. Yartseva/Denezhkina, 8-2
No. 2 – Leavy/Tiley (UTM) def. Holtzhausen/Porras, 8-3
No. 3 – LeMerle/Koornhof (UTM) def. Barnhill/Corkern, 8-0

Singles
No. 1 – Kelly Holtzhausen (TTU) def. Martie Wahl, 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 – Sara Leavy (UTM) def. Alena Krutkina, 6-0, 6-1
No. 3 – Belisa de Brito (UTM) def. Katie Barnhill, 6-0, 6-2
No, 4 – Jodie Tiley (UTM) def. Tatiana Denezhkina, 6-1, 6-2
No. 5 – Laura Porras (TTU) def. Ernestine Koornhof, 6-0, 6-4
No, 6 – Alycia LeMerle (UTM) def. Evgenia Yartseva, 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-7)

Men ‘s Match
Tennessee Tech 5, UT Martin 2

Doubles
No. 1 – Bruwer/Yesipov (UTM) def. O’Brien/Girling, 8-6
No. 2 – Krywacz/Markov (UTM) def. Chen/Gutierrez, 9-8 (7-5)
No. 3 – Kirstein/Pachon (TTU) def. Harris/Tsukiyama, 8-2

Singles
No. 1 – Dean O’Brien (TTU) def. Stephan Bruwer, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
No. 2 – Alex Chen (TTU) def. Alfredo Krywacz, 6-3, 6-2
No. 3 – Andrey Yesipov (UTM) def. Josh Girling, 6-2, 6-0
No, 4 – Justin Kirstein (TTU) def. Petr Markov, 6-4, 6-2
No. 5 – Oscar Pachon (TTU) def. Matt Harris, 6-3, 6-2
No, 6 – James Crawford (TTU) def. Shuntaro Tsukiyama, 6-0, 6-0